4X1: Questions for Wharton’s Dean

The more the Wharton Community gets to know Dean Geoffrey Garrett, the more questions individuals may have for him. Anticipating that, Wharton Magazine has turned to four alumni volunteers—dedicated members of its Class Notes team—and asked:

What do you want to ask Dean Garrett?

“Our world is increasingly interconnected at an exponential rate. How do you see the School maximizing the benefits in areas such as social media, Internet of Things and MOOCs?”

—Ismail Dawood WG02

Dean Garrett’s response:

“We are excited at the possibility of engaging and connecting with our alumni even more so through social media. In addition to the better known apps like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn—where we’ve seen tremendous growth in the past year—we’re now communicating globally through emerging platforms like WeChat, Line and Snapchat. This increases our reach while simultaneously allowing for more personalized and timely communications. Personally, I’ve been writing regularly on LinkedIn and tweet as often as possible about Wharton and the great places in the world I get to travel to as Dean. Please follow me!

With MOOCs, we have the opportunity to offer a sample of our world-class education at scale around the world. So far, we are using the Coursera and EdX platforms to help give a Wharton education to those who would not otherwise be able to experience it and to enable Wharton to identify those students who might go on to enroll as MBA students here in Philadelphia. We would like to increase the pool of people who are considering applying to Wharton . As important, is the learning we can get from MOOCs on how we teach and engage with students on our campuses. We hope to integrate those learnings into the in-classroom experiences on the Philadelphia and San Francisco campuses.”

“What plans do you have to assist Wharton alumni in resharpening their edge by learning business skills not taught years ago at Wharton: e.g., practical applied education on social media marketing and analytics or effective selling (or pitching) skills?”

“Several leading business schools have introduced one year, full-time MBA programs, designed for those whose career trajectories do not require a summer internship and who prefer an accelerated return to employment. Does Wharton plan to introduce such a program?”

—Mel Perel WG78

Dean Garrett’s response:

“No doubt, the business world is changing, which will require changes in the MBA. Wharton is watching and responding to these changes. We strongly believe in the on-campus experience of the Wharton MBA degree with the time for internships, networking, and extra- and co-curricular activities, as well as the required courses that make up the strength of the Wharton MBA. Our MBA for Executives Program provides students these opportunities as they complete their MBA and continue working.”

“Given your interest in political economics, how do you envision Wharton and its alumni generating public benefits through business initiatives, especially for those in inner cities with few employment options?”

—Elizabeth Wilkins WG86

Dean Garrett’s response:

“Governments are struggling to keep up with ever-rising social needs, whether in health care, infrastructure or transportation. This creates a huge gap where business must step up, and increasingly, the private sector is stepping up. There are many examples of the expanding public and social role of the private sector, from building the roads and railways needed to unleash the full potential of emerging markets, to the live-work-play mega-developments combining commercial, residential and retail and bringing so many people back to the hearts of American cities.

The expanding role of business will be a defining feature of our world for decades to come, and we are fortunate to have resources at the School to leverage the University’s resources to foster better-informed policy-making on issues related to business and the economy—from the Lipman Family Prize, which celebrates leadership and innovation among organizations creating positive social impact, to the Penn Wharton Public Policy Initiative, a hub for public policy research and education in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.”

Watch our video interview with Dean Garrett and perhaps some of his responses will answer your own concerns. Finally, if you still have a question (or four) of your own, send them our way at magazine@wharton.upenn.edu and we will pass them to the dean.